The Tale of Gregory (Part 2)
'Scythe ' First Day- I had an odd mixture of pride and terror for what my first day as an S.S.C member would be like. I would have to deal with things that my father and mother never had to worry about before. Never-the-less, I went to base as usual and was greeted by Patch and Guppy who were packing their things into an already stuffed back-pack. "Where is everybody?" I inquired. "They’re at the base," Patch replied hastily. "The real S.S.C base." Guppy cleared his throat and shyly mumbled, we are going to jog over there and show you around. Th-this base was just for new recruits." I smiled, "Well that’s good, I didn't want to stay at this crumby shack to much longer." "The 'new' base isn't much better." Patch mumbled as he led us out the door and began to jog up-hill. We jogged for about seven minutes in complete silence before Patch stopped abruptly behind a couple trees and ushered us over without saying a word. With all of us hiding behind the trees now, Patch directed my attention to a wooded area about the same size as Mellow-Falls. Patch now spoke in a whisper, "over in those woods is where Scythe houses its main base. The woods are practically abandoned; no-one lives, hikes, or hunts there. But they do occasionally head over to the old section of town you visited earlier to get your vest." I stared at Patch with confusion, "Why are you whispering, we are miles away from there." Patch just stared back at me hatefully and pulled us away from the trees so we could finish our jog. A "New" Base- After about eight more minutes, we arrived at a lonely warehouse practically in the middle of nowhere. It didn't take me long to come to the conclusion that this base was in just as bad of shape as the last one, if not worse. To its credit, it was a bit bigger and could obviously house plenty of members. As stood still, taking in its ugliness, Patch shoved me harshly out of the way as he approached the front door. "What's his problem?" I asked Guppy. "I-I don't know," he replied. "Patch is like this with everybody, he doesn't know how to be kind." Just as Guppy finished his sentence, Patch approached him and stared him down. "S-sorry, I was just kidding." Guppy muttered as he walked briskly into the base. I followed and noted that the inside was bigger than I had expected. Old lockers collected dust over in the back of the base and large pieces of ply-wood sectioned off different 'rooms.' I noticed three S.S.C members who I had never seen before and even saw Chris walk don one of the make-shift hall-ways after giving me a wave. "I'm supposed to give you a tour." Patch said as he came up behind m. He sounded like it was torcher to utter those words. I sighed, "You don't have to if you don't wan-" "Great!" Patch yelled as he walked away, leaving me alone now. I approached the lockers and saw Hawk putting some of his gear NEXT TO a rusty locker. Hawk noted my confusion and explained, "These lockers were and are for documents. We can't put any of our stuff in it." I nodded accordingly and Hawk continued, "If you want a mission or something, visit Chris, he'll tell you what to do." "Thanks Hawk," I said as I left to the same room I saw Chris enter earlier. Once there I saw Chris with a laptop in front of him working behind a table with a fellow S.S.C member sitting across from him. The S.S.C member turned to me and stood up. He looked to be a bit younger than I was and shook my hand as if I were a superior officer. "Hey there," he said enthusiastically. "I'm Dominic, but most people call me Green." "I'm Gregory," I replied. "Are you new here or something?" "Yeah, I joined a few days ago." Chris now looked up from his computer, "Green joined a couple days after you did... and he didn't fail the training mission unlike some other people," Chris said, trying to get on my nerves. "That’s not funny Chris, I said as I sat down across the table. "Green, I will catch up with you later," Chris said as Green left the room. "So," Chris said with a yawn. "What can I help you with?" "I would like to get a mission of some kind... I was thinking something... dangerous OH, and some stealth to." Chris chuckled, "WOAH, slow down there." I'm not sure if you are ready for anything big like that." "Then what?" I asked, "Do I just pick up groceries for the first few weeks?" "Well, no... but that would be nice." Chris replied. "Uh oh, hold on Gregory, I forgot to give Green something." With that, Chris fled the room, leaving his laptop on the table. I hesitated for a moment but decided to look at it. On the computer were files labeled mission 237, mission 238, mission, 239, etc. The mission list went on and on and upon clicking on a random one, I saw that the file contained instructions on how each mission was carried out and how they ended. It was impressive really. Many of these missions dated back to 1999! I scrolled to the newer missions and found that in order to keep these documents easily manageable, they gave each member their own documents with missions inside of them. Looking around to make sure Chris wasn't coming back; I clicked on my own and found nothing. I decided upon the next best thing: to check Spike's file. Tons of missions filled the page and I was drawn to the nearest one that had been created only yesterday. The file was labeled, BOD Spark. I now heard footsteps coming my way but I had to know what this was. I clicked on the file and pulled out my phone just in time to take a picture of the screen and sit back down in my own seat. Chris entered back into the room and stared at his laptop for a moment. My mind lit up, I had forgot to close the page I was on. I clenched my fists in fear as Chris stared at the screen for a bit longer and then dismissed it as nothing wrong. I breathed a sigh of relief as Chris sat down across from me. "Sorry, Gregory, as of right now there is no mission we can safely give you. I would suggest training or relaxing until we find something." I will not lie, I was depressed but there was one shimmering hope in my mind. I could take Spike's mission and complete it for him. This would earn the respect I had been waiting for. I didn't want to make it look like I was sad, so I brought up a quick question that came to my mind. "So Green was speaking with you, does that mean h is on Team Ice?" Chris shook his head, "No, he is not on any team." Suddenly an S.S.C member entered the room and called for Chris to help move something. Chris got up to leave but I still had questions. "How can he not be on a team?" Chris was now walking to the door but stopped to reply, "Commander Spike requested that he train on his own." I was still confused by this, "That’s a bit crazy don't you think?" Chris was now half-way out the door, "I suppose so, but Spike is allowed to make these 'crazy' decisions... after all, he is Tye's apprentice." With my mouth now gaping open, Chris turned his back on me and walked out with his laptop. Mission- I found it hard to sleep that night, not because I was excited for the mission I had given myself, and not because I was worried either. I couldn't sleep because of how shocked I was the Tye himself had trained Commander Spike. My father mentioned Tye just as much as he did everybody else. But while everyone else had a wrap-up to their story once they reached college, Tye was one of the youngest and he stayed in the S.S.C longer than anybody. So to hear something new about a figure I had only learned about in little stories, was quite the shocker. Due to age differences, Tye would have had to of trained Spike when he was already a man. For all I knew, Tye could still be part of the S.S.C. But with that brain-bender aside, I checked the picture I had taken of the mission. The main biography stated: Drake Ballard, a 17-year old junior has been officially declared the son of Anthony Ballard who operated in The Brotherhood of Death before being captured by Commander Delta and his unit on June 8th. Drake has been notably trying to rebuild the club once again and will be holding a meeting with another member to discuss imperative future plans. The meeting will be held at The Death Pit at some time between 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM. Capturing Drake before the meeting will cripple most any chance for the club's return. The rest of the mission was cut off from the picture but I could easily tell what I had to do. And where I had to do it. Wreckage of The Death Pit- The next day, I packed up my gear and headed towards the wreckage of The Death Pit. I had heard a few stories about the place and my father had told me that he had fought in it once. Of course fighting in it now was impossible seeing as the entire structure of the barn had collapsed and now layed still in a messy ruble. The broken base was quite a distance away from any houses that I was aware of and I found it likely that the destroyed barn hadn't even been discovered by anyone outside of the S.S.C and its rivals. I arrived early so I could take out Drake before anyone else arrived. It was eerily quiet as I sat hiding near a large pile of rubble. I sat there for half an hour before hearing footsteps and a faint voice. I quickly peered around the rubble and found it to be Drake on his phone. He was speaking harshly to whoever was on the other line, telling him to hurry and meet him before any trouble arrived. Drake then hung up his phone and stood cautiously still on the other side of the barn. I carefully made my way around a corner while remaining close to the wreckage. Suddenly, my foot hit a rotted piece of wood and it came crashing down on several other pieces, causing a loud scuffle. I immediately heard footsteps coming in my direction as Drake came wondering around the corner to see what the commotion was. Without thinking, I dove next to a small bit of the undamaged wall and covered myself with two long pieces of wood. Drake slowly walked along the side of the wreckage, checking very carefully if anyone was there. As he passed me, his body came to a halt as he peered over the horizon for a moment. I used this to my advantage and quickly grabbed his feet as I lept from my hiding spot. With a shriek of terror, Drake came tumbling down with his arms flailing. I tried to get him into a head-lock, but he fought himself back up with surprising strength. "You're going to regret that," Drake said harshly as he swung at my face. I was able to back up just in time to dodge this and follow this up by kneeing him in the stomach. As soon as Drake fell forward in agony, I dashed underneath him and tossed him over myself like it was some sort of acrobatics act. Drake flew through the air like a rag doll before landing precariously on top of some of the wreckage. While Drake was moaning in pain, I withdrew the walkie-talkie from my vest and began to contact Luke. As soon as I turned my back I heard sudden movement from Drake as he drew back his fist for a fearsome punch. I didn't even have time to react and just I I winced for the pain I was about to endure, Drakes fist was stopped in mid-flight by Commander Spike! Keeping full eye contact with me, Commander Spike slowly twisted Drake's arm behind his own back and let him fall to the ground in slow agony. Commander Spike now stared at me with a glare of unhappiness. "Look..." I stammered. "I know you're probably mad Spike... but I... I just wanted a tough mission... ya know... to prove myself to you g-guys." "And you did that by looking at my secret mission files?" Spike replied. I now stared down at my feat, feeling like I was Guppy against Patch. Spike stared at me for a bit longer before propping Drake back up and walking him back to base. "Meet me at the base at 5:00," he said over his shoulder. "I have a mission for you." I should have been happy with that response, but the way Spike said it made it sound more like a punishment. Operation Explorator- Spike dropped off Drake at Chris's door and motioned for me to follow him into his actual office. I sat down in a chair and Spike made himself comfortable at his desk. Out of nowhere, Spike pulled out a laptop and typed slowly without saying a word or giving me any eye contact. I worried that he would give me a death sentence or worse! He finally stopped and looked up at me. "You were so busy looking at my files, that you probably didn't notice the one called Operation Explorator..." "Is that even a word?" I said, trying to get on his good side. "Explorator is Latin for spy," he replied. "Do you just translate missions to Latin so they will sound cooler?" I said with a short-lived laugh. "It wasn't my idea," he replied. "But it is a smart thing to do so that no-one gets suspicious and clicks on it." Spike paused for a moment and checked to make sure no-one was outside of his office. "I do have a mission for you," he muttered. "And I think you would be the perfect person for the job if you’re up to it..." I was surprised yet still worried about what this task would be. How could I be better at something than other members who had been training for years? Spike continued, "We have 17 more days until Scythe carries out its attack and attempts to kill one of our own. There is so much we don't know about them and TO MUCH they know bout us. We sent in a spy before... but as I told you... he was caught." I began to see where this was going now. My heart began to race as I realized what a death sentence this was actually turning into. "...Scythe has seen almost all of our members at least once... but you... you are new. If you were to infiltrate Scythe and gain their trust, you might be able to destroy them from the inside. You're previous training with your father and your training with us will serve you well while in enemy territory. I know this is a lot to take in... but after seeing you fight... I believe we have a fighting chance again... can you help us?" Spike cracked an uncharacteristic smile as he outstretched his hand to me. My mind was racing, all of this was happening so fast that I wasn't sure what to do. I always wanted to become a hero like my father... but at what cost? I suppose none of that thinking really mattered in the end... because I walked out of that office with a new mission... a mission to infiltrate Scythe. Debriefing- With 16 days left to destroy or at least detour Scythe, it was important that I got to my mission as soon as possible. Spike layed out the rules of the mission as clearly as he could without skipping a single detail. I would be dressed with a Scythe bandanna; the only one left in our storage. I would then proceed to enter their base in the small wooded area shown to me earlier by Patch, or as Scythe called it: Father. I would then say the password used by the previous spy in order to gain entry and then rise in rank until I could make direct contact with their leader Henry. It was important that I keep this information hidden from most of my team-mates so that no information would be accidentally leaked. Every other move would have to be orchestrated by me. With that, I told my father what was happening while Spike put together a cover-story on why I would be gone for a while. My father was hesitant of the mission, but agreed that if people's lives were on the line, someone had to defend them. This did not however keep him from crying and hugging me. The rest of the day went by as slow as possible and at 8:00 it was time for me to make my move. My heart was beating as fast as possible, but an undeniable calm was on my mind. Before I had left, my father told me something that kept me moving. "There are people out there who can stand up for themselves and people out there who can't , you can try to pick a side but it doesn't matter, true heroes are bound to the right path." Negative- The skies soon grew dark as I traveled farther away from civilization. However, the occasional car horns and crickets weren’t the only things catching my attention. From time-to-time, I heard a light shuffling. The noise eventually died down until Father was directly in my sights. Suddenly, a hand appeared on my shoulder as I jerked away and turned around to punch the face of what I expected to be Patch or Luke, trying to scare me. My fist was stopped in mid-flight as I looked into the face of my visitor. Standing there was a figure in a blank red mask with darkened eyes peeking out from underneath. He wore a leather white jacket and a black cloth wrapped around the back of his head to keep me from seeing his hair. "What the-" before I could speak, he twisted my arm around my back until I was down on my knees. I prepared myself for a kick to the back or a head-lock, but all I got was my arm released from his grasp. The figure now backed up, allowing me to stand. "Luke, if this is some kind of joke, then now is not the time!" I yelled in anger. "You are going into the Father Base," he said in a raspy voice. "Are you a Scythe member?" I asked hesitantly. "You have to realize that going in there is a death sentence... once you start this mission, there is no backing out." he said softly. "Who are you!?" I yelled uneasily. Instead of answering the figure pointed towards Father Base. "They changed the password," he said. "It is now Black Crow... by the way you can call me Negative... we will be in touch." "What do you mean?" I said as I turned around, but he was gone, simply vanishing without a trace. I quickly pulled out my walkie-talkie and contacted Spike as I looked around for Negative. Spike answered and I quickly explained the situation to him. "Should I trust this guy Spike," I asked. "He seems pretty sketchy." Spike thought for a moment and replied, I recall hearing that a similar thing happened to Brett back in the old days." "The Night Riser Incident?" I asked. "Yup, if I were you, I would stick with the plan," Spike replied. "Until we know more about this guy, we will go through with our own plan, sounds like he will be coming back anyways." "...Understood," I replied. As I hung up the walkie-talkie, I thought for just a second that I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Password- I was now torn between listening to this masked man or Spike, the decision could change everything. I had barely got a chance to think before I reached the point of entry into the woods. I was to wait a few minutes holding my bandanna in the air to prove I was not an enemy. Everything was quiet and just as I was about to put it down, two figures came out of the darkness. Without saying a word, one of them yanked the bandanna from my hand and examined it for an uncomfortable amount of time. I held my breath as he began to speak. "Password?" he uttered. My mind suddenly raced s I realized the wrong move could cost me my life. It didn't help that I caught a glimpse of one of a gun strapped to their sides. "D-dark Crow...." I said trying to keep my cool. They both paused for a while as I struggled not to shiver. "Go on in," one said at last. I walked cautiously into the woods relieved that I had kept my head. But this was only the beginning. Into Scythe- I walked own an old biking route until I noticed light in the distance. Walking off the trail, my eyes soon fell upon a vast sea of tents sitting by a small stream in a clearing. Scythe members flooded the area, speaking quietly yet still behaving like teens. It wasn't easy to see, but I soon found older members with beards and bulging muscles, this gang had no age limit. I kept my cool... or however much of it I had left, and did my best to blend in. Many of the members had guns strapped to their sides; I even spotted a knife or two from time-to-time. The only thing lighting the night around now was a small fire and a few flashlights. "I'm beginning to hope Negative IS watching out for me," I muttered to myself. Despite my fears, I knew that I would have to speak to someone in order to make my way towards Henry. I came across a small group of tens around my age and decided to speak in a low, intimidating voice. "You guys know where Henry is? I gotta have a little discussion with'em." The boys looked confused for a second as one stepped forward. "You mean Big H?" he asked. "Uh... yeah, where is he anyways?" I replied carefully. "Probably in his office as usual," the kid said. "Are you new here or something?" Without a moment to spare I replied, "Yeah, I just joined the other day." The kid was about to reply but suddenly a low humming noise silenced all the members as they then proceeded to walk down a path I hadn't seen before. Following everyone, we eventually came to a halt at a large shack where members began to pour in, one-by-one. I proceeded inside and heard the word “meeting” get tossed around a few times, I now realized that this would be the perfect opportunity to see Big H. Seats were arranged around the moldy building, but many had to stand or sit on the floor. Luckily, I spotted a seat close to the front where I could receive a perfect view. Just as I sat down, a brooding figure stood over me. I looked up only to find a giant man looking at me in disdain. "What do you think you're doi'in?" he asked with a snarl. "Uh... sorry, didn't realize we had assigned seats," I replied as I began to stand. I don't know what it was about what I said, but it just seemed to make the man angrier. "You try'in do be funny kid?" he said as he gave me a shove. "No I-" "Shut it!" he interrupted with another shove. My heart was racing again and now people were starting to watch. Why did I have to pick that seat? Suddenly, a voice intervened. "He's new; he doesn't know the rules yet." I glanced over only to find a kid around my age. He had brown, short-cut hair and a few bruises. Standing behind him was the kid I talked to earlier. The big guy looked at them for a moment, then back at me. "Fine," he said. "Don't do it again." With that, the two boys called me over to a corner in the back of the shack. "Thanks for helping me there guys." I said. "No problem, Devin told me that you were a new guy looking for Big H." "Yeah," I replied. "But I'm assuming that is not easy to do." "You got that right," Devin said with a laugh. "You got to either win a reward or be promoted to Shadow Squad for that to happen." My mind filled with questions, but I was afraid that asking the wrong one would get me caught. What was important right now was that I had found some people who I could talk to and learn information from. Not bad for my first day. Soon, a teen about my age appeared at the front of the room and told everyone to quiet down. "Is that Big H?" I asked cautiously. "No," replied Devin, that's his little brother Trigger. He's pretty much second in command around here." I thought for a moment. "Is it possible for me to meet him?" Devin shook his head no, but the other kid stared at me strangely and then motioned me to come outside with him. I decided to follow him out into the dark where he then turned to me. "How come you want to meet with the big guys so bad?" he asked. "I... I wanted to show them my fighting skills... and become well respected nice and quick. I don't like waiting." This answer seemed to satisfy the kid as he then smiled. "My name is Justin... yours?" "G-Gregory," I replied quickly. Luckily, Justin found nothing wrong with this and proceeded to shake my hand. "Shouldn't we head back inside?" I asked. "For the meeting." "This meeting is really for the Hounds," Justin replied. "Hounds?" I muttered out loud. Justin seemed surprised by my confusion, "Didn't you learn this stuff in training?" he asked. I searched my mind for an answer. "I probably did, but I have a terrible memory," I lied. "It is my one flaw." Justin laughed, "Well, THAT, and picking one of the worst possible seats to try and sit in." Our laughter was soon cut short by the loudest yell I had heard all day. "What are you to Pups doing out here?!" I looked over, only to find a teen dressed in black, with two guns strapped to his side and a pocket knife gleaming from his pocket. Surrounding him were four guards who also wore black and some shades. "Sorry Shadow..." Justin replied with a salute. I copied Justin as this guy called Shadow proceeded to stare at me for a while. From the looks of it, he was a bit older than me, but looked pretty muscular and intimidating, with scars and bruises to boot. "Yeah, sorry Shadow," I echoed. Shadow stared at us with disdain, "Don't call me that!" he yelled. "You will address me as sir, is that clear!?" Shadow was about to speak again, but a sudden buzz interrupted him. Soon, every light in the entire camp was shut off. And not a whisper could be heard. I could no longer spot Justin, Shadow, or his guards, but I could tell they were close. We waited in silence for a minute or two before another buzz rand out and lights were turned back on. I looked around for Shadow and his guys, but they were gone. Justin remained at my side though. "What was that?" I asked. "What, Shadow or the lights out?" "Both" I replied. "Shadow is in charge of carrying out attacks. He leads the Shadow Squad which is pretty much the highest rank you can get. As for the lights out, whenever a cop car is spotted within a certain distance of the woods, we have to quiet down and shut off our lights." “How could you possibly know when a cop car in coming?" I asked. "Look around Gregory, there are spotters in the trees, they see everything inside and outside of Father Base." I looked up only to spot a couple of Scythe members camped in the trees, keeping a watchful eye over the road and the tents. It was only now that I realized why Patch was so cautious and why this mission would become much MUCH harder. The Secret- I decided to leave the base before it reached 12:00, and to do that, I had to find a spot in Father Base that wasn't under the watchful eyes from above. I searched the perimeter for a short time before coming to a small path covered by overgrown weeds and fallen tree branches. I made my way out while holding my breath because I didn't want anybody to hear me... and I was pretty scared. Once out of father base, I followed an old rail-rode back towards base. Everything was much quieter now but I still felt that Shadow's fearsome squad would jump out of nowhere and attack. Once I had put 3 miles in between myself and Father Base, I called Commander Spike and asked him to meet me so I could explain what I had learned. He agreed, and I finally found the bravery to start running. However, this was short-lived as a sudden hand on my shoulder pulled me back. I tripped and dazingly looked up at my visitor. Negative was standing above me again. The mask was the same, but he was now wearing black to blend in with the night. He really just looked like a floating head. He spoke softly to me in his grizzly voice. "So... you’re not backing out after all. If that's the case then maybe you should start asking more questions." "What is that supposed to mean?" I asked as I stood back up. "Spike has been keeping things from you," he said. "You know almost nothing about what is really going on here... we will have to change that." "You just assume that I'm going to trust a masked man that constantly pops up out of nowhere!?" I asked. "You have to trust me; after all... you took my advice for the password..." It was hard for me to hide my surprise. "You... you knew about that?" "I'll be keeping an eye on you," he said. "If you don't trust me now... we'll have plenty of time to change that..." I was now at a loss for words. Negative then took a file from his jacket and threw it to my feet. "Here's your proof." With that, Negative dawned a hood and took a few steps back into the darkness; he seemingly disappeared completely, right in front of my face. Gazing at the file, I immediately noticed the word CONFIDENTIAL stamped on the front. I took out my flashlight and opened up the file. Multiple words, names, and dates, were marked out with sharpie, but the document itself was still intact. I began to read: ~With Scythe's attack on Menford Bank underway, seven S.S.C squads have been deployed to quell the situation and retrieve the money safely. Rodrick has solidified the theory that our call was indeed from Brett Blakely. He wishes to retrieve the money and then present it anonymously to the police to handle the situation from there. Conflict is not advised, but it is allowed if absolutely necessary. ~ The rest of the paragraph was marked out and I quickly flipped to the only other page in the file. Most everything was marked out here as well, but one thing remained unchanged, Commander Spike's signature approving the document. It didn't take me long to realize Spike had indeed tricked me, and now I was mad. The Whole Story?- By the time I reached our base again, it was 1:00 in the morning and the entire place was seemingly emptied out. But upon going to Commander Spike's portions of the base, lights were indeed on. I entered his office and found a half-asleep Commander Spike staring at me from the other side of the table. I was still burning with anger as I slammed the file on to the table. Spike jolted awake and confusingly took hold of the file to briefly read it. "Where did you get this?" he asked harshly. "Where I got it doesn't matter," I said. "What does matter is that you've been lying to me!" Spike was completely awake now as he slammed down the file and looked me square in the eye. "More like protecting you," he said. "If I had told you the whole truth, I was afraid you wouldn't take the job... the S.S.C isn't as innocent as I said before..." "Well I've already taken the mission so you might as well tell me now!" I retorted. Spike paused for a moment as he looked down at the file. "Spike, I NEED to know this so that I can understand what I'm dealing with; my life is at stake here!" "Fine," Spike replied as he got up from his desk and checked to make sure no-one was still around. He then sat back down in his chair as he confided in me the whole story. "From what I told you before, when Brett called the S.S.C, we attempted to take back the money but were unsuccessful in doing so. However, Scythe blamed us anyways for no reason. This is not entirely true. On the night of the robbery, Scythe split itself into groups so that one could distract the cops while the others transported the money. One of our S.S.C squads encountered this group and successfully took the money from their grasp. According to the squad, they were then met by an S.S.C member who claimed that our leader wanted all the money to be given to this one guy so that it could then be transferred safely. The squad handed over the money to this S.S.C member and it was only the next morning that everyone realized that our leader never gave those orders and that whoever took the money was no S.S.C member at all." Spike looked up at me, seemingly done with his story. "Where can I find this squad from your story," I asked. "They should know what the 'S.S.C member' looked like." Spike sighed, "That Squad quite years ago, I don't have access to them anymore. Besides, they said that they couldn't see is face very well anyways." I thought for a moment. "Is there anyone who could know anything more about this?" "Sorry," Spike relied. "Most S.S.C members don't know the full story, and the ones that do; still don't know as much as me." I kept thinking, "What about Brett?" "I suppose he might know something since it was him who sent us on that mission, but no-one knows where he is...except...never mind." "What were you about to say?" I asked. "My master, Tye would probably know where Tim Allender is, and since Tim and Brett went to college together, Tim could know where he went off to. However, Tye stopped training me when he heard about what’s going on, and I don't know where he lives. He says it’s our own fault for thinking we were powerful enough to take on a gang with such power... It's sort of funny... THEM became our enemies all those years ago, because it felt that the S.S.C would become too strong and put kid's lives in danger... I guess... in the long-run... they were right. Now look at us... we are a shadow of what we used to be. We don't fight to save kids... we fight to save ourselves." Spike looked down in defeat. I decided to lighten the mood, "We may have made a lot of mistakes, but these mistakes will turn into lessons that need to be learned. And it is because of these lessons that we will survive, through strength, teamwork,... and trust." Spike looked back up at me in approval and nodded in agreement. With this, I made my way to the door. Before I could leave, Spike stopped me with one last thing. "I never thought it would be a rookie to comfort me into thinking we will win this... I will tell any S.S.C member who doesn't know about the real robbery, the whole truth... because you are right, trust will save us in the end." "Glad to hear it," I said with a foot out the door. "Where are you going now?" Spike asked curiously. I smiled, "To find Tye."